Peter Hamby

Shortly before noon Thursday, live from the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), CNN political reporter Peter Hamby described the gathering as a “conservative petri dish” to measure “how Mitt Romney is received and how his challengers are received too.” Anchor Suzanne Malveaux chimed in: “I love that, conservative petri dish. That’s a great way to describe it.”

A petri dish is defined as “a shallow circular dish with a loose-fitting cover, used to culture bacteria or other microorganisms.” As if conservatives are some kind of organism in a contained space to be studied from above by the “scientists” at CNN for our harmful effects. We’re not the Ebola virus, but that seems as if it’s how CNN sees conservatives. Video below.

Ever wonder how political "facts" become facts? How does a story go from a mere unsubstantiated report to universal truth? Often, it happens with a catchy headline in a report that states as "fact" a claim made by one person even though no one else has been seen backing up the claim. Such may be the case with a recent story on actor Gary Sinise becoming "the savior of the GOP."

Peter Hamby of CNN has decided to make Gary Sinise the new golden boy of the Republican Party. It has all the elements of a good tale: A handsome actor, politically astute and well known for being active is suddenly the "new" face of the party to which he belongs, a man about to save the whole darn shootin' match with his star power. It's a political success story sure to gain big headlines... except for the fact that it basically isn't true.

CNN has posted a Political Ticker entry trying to create a "gotcha" on 2nd Amendment supporter, Fred Thompson. CNN's South Carolina Producer Peter Hamby has breathlessly announced that "Thompson does not have hunting license," but the question is... so what? Do you HAVE to own a hunting license to be for the 2nd Amendment? Does Fred not owning a hunting license disqualify him as a gun rights advocate? Well, it appears that CNN imagines that you are illegitimate if you claim to support the 2nd Amendment yet you don't have a valid hunting license. What we end up with here is proof that CNN doesn't have a clue what it means to own a gun, what it means to support gun rights, nor do they understand the 2nd Amendment itself, or that there are various "gun cultures" and levels of interest and usage for guns in the United States.